Point of View

All of the 14 short stories in this book are written in the third person narrative, from Socrates’ point of view. Published in 1998, the book is set in 1995-1996, and presents the main action of each story as occurring in those years. Each of the stories is centered either around Socrates’ present or his past, and Socrates is in every scene in the book. All perceptions, feelings, and emotions in the stories are Socrates’, and all action is seen though his eyes. While the stories are written by a third person narrator, the author does occasionally insert first person thoughts and observations by Socrates outside of normal dialogue, usually set off by italics.

The fact all of the observations, feelings, and emotions in these stories are what Socrates’ sees and feels causes the reader to care about this character and also generally feel the same way...